Morphologic effects of hGRH gene expression on the pituitary, liver, and pancreas of MT-hGRH transgenic mice. An in situ hybridization analysis

Morphologic changes in the pituitary, liver, and pancreas of mice with the metallothionein-human growth hormone--releasing hormone (MT-hGRH) transgene were analyzed by in situ hybridization histochemistry (ISH). There was progression from somatotroph hyperplasia to neoplasia in pituitaries of transgenic mice. Pituitary neoplasms were present between 9 to 12 months of age in some mice. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) readily identified enlarged pituitaries in MT-hGRH transgenic mice. Serum mouse GH and hGRH levels were marked elevated in MT-hGRH transgenic mice. In situ hybridization histochemistry showed mRNA for hGRH in liver, pituitary, pancreas, spleen, and in most other tissues examined. Combined ISH and immunohistochemistry in the pituitary gland showed that some of the GH cells also produced hGRH, and ultrastructural immunohistochemical analysis of pituitaries showed that GH and hGRH were localized in the same cell and within the same secretory granules. Liver cells of MT-hGRH transgenic mice showed evidence of hypertrophy, and the pancreatic islets were hyperplastic with significant increases in the islet cell areas. The morphologic changes in the liver were distinctive enough to separate control littermates from MT-hGRH transgenic mice in all cases. The enlarged pancreatic islets had increased numbers of insulin-producing cells. Immunoreactive hGRH and hGRH mRNA were both localized in islet cells, and an intense hybridization signal of hGRH mRNA, but only weak staining for hGRH protein, were detected in the liver of transgenic mice. These results indicate that excessive hGRH production leads to distinct morphologic changes in various organs in MT-hGRH transgenic mice and that there is temporal progression from hyperplasia to adenomatous somatotrophs in pituitaries with chronic stimulation by hGRH that involves paracrine, endocrine, and autocrine mechanisms.

31P magnetization transfer studies in the monkey brain

The forward and reverse rates through the creatine-kinase (CK) catalyzed reaction, phosphocreatine + ADP+ H+ kf in equilibrium with kr creatine + ATP in the in vivo monkey brain were measured using the techniques of saturation transfer (ST) and inversion transfer (IT) 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Independent checks on the ST apparent longitudinal relaxation (tau) data could be obtained from the parameters determined from the IT analyses. At near-equilibrium it is assumed that the forward-to-reverse flux ratio lies close to 1.0. In the monkey brain the value for the forward-to-reverse flux ratio obtained is 1.37 +/- 0.26 calculated from ST with average tau values from IT initial slopes, a value which is not significantly different from unity. The present NMR data point to the CK reaction in the living monkey brain being maintained at or near equilibrium.

Cerebral metabolic disturbances in patients with subacute and chronic diabetes mellitus: detection with proton MR spectroscopy

Localized proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy was used to define biochemical changes in gray and white matter of the cerebral cortex in 22 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), including 10 episodes of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), compared with MR spectra in 30 healthy subjects. Five distinct metabolic abnormalities were identified: Concentrations of glucose (Glc) (P greater than or equal to .002), ketone body or bodies, myo-inositol (P greater than or equal to .003) (with or without glycine), and choline (Cho) metabolites were increased in both white and gray matter, whereas a significant reduction of N-acetyl metabolites was found in the parietal cortex (P greater than or equal to .003). Diurnal variations in the intracerebral concentration of Glc were demonstrated in a patient with DM whose condition was stable. Elevated concentrations of ketones were detected in three episodes and excess Cho in two episodes of DKA. Evidence obtained with hydrogen-1 MR spectroscopy favors acetone rather than acetoacetate as the ketone present in the brain, which is a major target of biochemical change in DM.

Quantitative P-31 MR spectroscopy of the liver in alcoholic cirrhosis

To determine the cause of reduced urea synthesis in cirrhosis, absolute concentrations of phosphorus metabolites in the human liver have been measured in vivo with magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy. One-dimensional chemical shift imaging was used to obtain phosphorus-31 spectra from five healthy volunteers and five patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. A reference standard included in all studies enabled the calculation of absolute concentrations. In contrast to hepatic metabolite ratios, absolute concentrations reveal that in the cirrhotic patients, concentrations of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were significantly reduced and concentrations of phosphomonoesters slightly reduced. Intracellular pH was unchanged. Histologic evidence suggests that the amount of ATP per cell was unchanged and could not account for the reduced urea production. Instead, urea synthesis depends on the functional liver cell mass, which was reduced by 31% in alcoholic cirrhosis. Quantitative in vivo P-31 MR spectroscopy of liver has potential clinical applications and can supplement the more generally used P-31 metabolite ratios.

Metabolic disorders of the brain in chronic hepatic encephalopathy detected with H-1 MR spectroscopy

Proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy of the brain was performed in 11 patients with chronic hepatic encephalopathy (CHE), and the results were compared with those of patients with liver disease but without CHE; clinical control subjects with diabetes, uremia, or cortical atrophy; and healthy subjects. The technique of water-suppressed stimulated-echo hydrogen-1 MR spectroscopy for detection of cerebral glutamate, glutamine, glucose, N-acetylaspartate, choline metabolites, (phospho)creatine, and myo-inositol is described. Specific changes in the brain of CHE patients included the anticipated elevation in cerebral glutamine levels (P less than or equal to .0001), a 23% reduction in choline metabolite levels (P less than or equal to .0001), and a more than 50% reduction in cerebral myo-inositol levels (P less than or equal to .0001). In four of the 15 patients with liver disease but without clinical CHE, a significant reduction in the myo-inositol level was detected, and in two of these patients an elevation in the glutamine concentration was also observed. These findings indicate a role for image-guided H-1 MR spectroscopy in the diagnosis and monitoring of both overt and preclinical CHE.

Spatially localized in vivo 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy of an intracerebral rat glioma

Surface coil MRI combined with spatially localized spectroscopy was used to noninvasively detect 1H signals from metabolites within an intracerebral malignant glioma in rats. The MRS pulse sequence was based upon two-dimensional ISIS, which restricted 1H signals to a column-shaped volume, combined with one-dimensional spectroscopic imaging, which further resolved the signals into 8 or 16 slices along the major axis of the column. All experiments were executed with adiabatic pulses which induced uniform spin excitation despite the inhomogeneous radiofrequency field distribution produced by the surface coil transmitter. Surface coil MRI and MRS experiments were performed on phantom samples, normal rat brains, and rat brains harboring malignant gliomas. Spatially resolved in vivo 1H spectra of intracerebral gliomas revealed significantly decreased concentrations of N-acetyl-aspartate and creatine and increased lactic acid (or lipids) as compared to the contralateral hemisphere. These results demonstrate that metabolic abnormalities in intracerebral rat gliomas can be spatially resolved in a noninvasive manner using localized in vivo 1H MRS.

Endorectal surface coil MR imaging of prostatic carcinoma with the inversion-recovery sequence

The value of inversion-recovery (IR) sequences in the diagnosis and staging of prostatic carcinoma with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was studied. Twenty-six patients with carcinoma of the prostate were imaged at 1.5 T with an endorectal surface coil and with a variety of IR sequences and a set of spin-echo (SE) sequences for comparison. Ex vivo prostate specimens were imaged again at the same field strength. The two images were correlated with histologic sections. Cancer was identified with MR imaging in 96% of patients. Of the tumors more than 4 mm in diameter, 87% were identified on T2-weighted SE images, whereas only 26% were identified on IR images. However, IR images may be more useful in local staging of carcinoma. Gross capsular infiltration was present in only two patients; however, it was detectable (and excluded in five other patients) by means of IR images. It was not detectable on SE images. The high quality of images obtained with the endorectal coil was confirmed. The authors conclude that addition of the IR sequence to MR imaging with the endorectal coil may improve the usefulness of this examination.

31P saturation transfer and phosphocreatine imaging in the monkey brain

31P magnetic resonance imaging with chemical-shift discrimination by selective excitation has been employed to determine the phosphocreatine (PCr) distribution in the brains of three juvenile macaque monkeys. PCr images were also obtained while saturating the resonance of the gamma-phosphate of ATP, which allowed the investigation of the chemical exchange between PCr and the gamma-phosphate of ATP catalyzed by creatine kinase. Superposition of the PCr images over the proton image of the same monkey brain revealed topological variations in the distribution of PCr and creatine kinase activity. PCr images were also obtained with and without visual stimulation. In two out of four experiments, an apparently localized decrease in PCr concentration was noted in visual cortex upon visual stimulation. This result is interpreted in terms of a possible role for the local ADP concentration in stimulating the accompanying metabolic response.

A 15N-NMR study of isolated brain in portacaval-shunted rats after acute hyperammonemia

Acute hyperammonemia was induced by 15NH4+ infusion in portacaval-shunted (PCS) and control rats to investigate its effects on cerebral metabolism of glutamine, glutamate and gamma-aminobutyrate. Cerebral 15N-metabolites were observed by 15N-NMR spectroscopy in the ex vivo brain, removed in toto at the end of infusion. Key 15N-metabolites in the brain and liver were quantitated and their specific activities measured by NMR and biochemical assays in perchloric acid extracts of the freeze-clamped organs. In the ex vivo brain, [gamma-15N]glutamine, present at tissue concentrations of 3-5 mumol/g with 15N enrichment of 36-48%, was observable within 6-13 min of data acquisition. [alpha-15N]glutamine/glutamate, each present at 0.5-1 mumol/g (approx. 10% enrichment), were observed in 27 min. The results demonstrate the feasibility of observing these cerebral metabolites by 15N-NMR within a physiological time scale. In a rat pretreated with glutamine synthetase inhibitor, L-methionine DL-sulfoximine, cerebral [15N]gamma-aminobutyrate was observed after 910 min. In PCS rats, decreased 15NH4+ removal in the liver was accompanied by formation of approx. 2-fold higher concentration of cerebral [gamma-15N]glutamine relative to that in weight-matched controls. The result suggests that increased diffusion of blood-borne 15NH3 into the brain led to increased [gamma-15N]glutamine synthesis in astrocytes as well as ammonia-mediated inhibition of glutaminase.

Image guided localized 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy of acute urinary tract obstruction

Using 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy, localized spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging we studied effects of acute urinary obstruction in the in vivo pig kidney. Accumulation of urine in the renal pelvis and collecting ducts resulted in the appearance of a new peak in the localized phosphorus spectra originating in the renal papilla, resonating at 3.43 to 4.56 ppm. This was inorganic phosphate with a pH of 5.60 to 6.79 (urine pH). Imaging did not show any dilatation of renal pelvis. There was a significant time dependent fall in renal [ATP] during urinary obstruction followed by a rapid "overshoot" of [ATP] and disappearance of the phosphate peak after release of obstruction. Possible mechanisms for this phenomenon are discussed. We conclude that 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy provides early evidence of urinary obstruction in vivo and could be of value in clinical diagnosis.

Metabolic effects of sodium nitroprusside on the pig kidney in vivo: studies by phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy was applied to the pig kidney in vivo to determine the metabolic effects of infusion of sodium nitroprusside, and of more severe hypotension produced by venesection or halothane. Sodium nitroprusside 7-20 micrograms kg-1 min-1 reduced mean systemic arterial pressure (AP) of the pig from 89 to 46 mm Hg. Glomerular filtration rate and total sodium reabsorption were reduced proportionally. Renal metabolism, assessed by the ratio [ATP]: [Pi] (inorganic phosphate), did not change. Adding halothane or venesection to nitroprusside hypotension caused a further reduction in systemic AP to 42 and 39 mm Hg, respectively. Renal [ATP] decreased in direct proportion to mean AP. It is concluded that sodium nitroprusside, even in high doses, does not reduce renal oxygen delivery as assessed by the ability of the kidney to maintain normal ATP content. However, haemorrhage or an increase in halothane dosage results in irreversible damage to the energy producing processes of the kidney. This may be relevant to the clinical use of the drug.

3-D FLASH imaging using a single surface coil and a new adiabatic pulse, BIR-4

A new adiabatic pulse, which can induce uniform and arbitrary flip angles despite the presence of transmitter coil magnetic field (B1) inhomogeneities, is employed for 3-D fast imaging using a single surface coil for pulse transmission and signal detection. Computer calculations and phantom, rat, and human surface coil imaging experiments demonstrate the utility of this adiabatic pulse for T1-weighted imaging with a transmitter coil which generates a highly inhomogeneous B1 field profile.

Hexose monophosphate shunt measurement in cultured cells with [1-13C]glucose: correction for endogenous carbon sources using [6-13C] glucose

Hexose monophosphate shunt (HMPS) activity can be measured with 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy or gas chromatography--mass spectrometry by monitoring the differential production of [3-13C]lactate and [3-12C]lactate from the degradation of [1-13C]-glucose. Errors in measurement of HMPS activity can arise from unlabeled lactate precursors, by recycling of HMPS products, and by incomplete fractional enrichment of labeled glucose. A method utilizing cultured cells incubated with [1-13C]glucose in parallel with incubations using [6-13C]glucose to correct for all these problems is presented. In cultured rat C6 glioma and 9L gliosarcoma cells, failure to apply this correction results in an approximately twofold overestimation of HMPS activity.

In vivo 31P and 2H NMR [corrected] studies of rat brain tumor pH and blood flow during acute hyperglycemia: differential effects between subcutaneous and intracerebral locations

Surface coil NMR spectroscopy was used to monitor the hyperglycemia-induced alterations in pH and blood flow in vivo in C6 gliomas implanted both subcutaneously and intracerebrally in rats. Tumor pH was calculated from the chemical shift difference between PCr and Pi in the 31P NMR spectra. Subcutaneous glioma pH decreased 0.8 units by 1 h after intraperitoneal administration of an aqueous 50% glucose solution (6 g glucose per kg body weight). In contrast, hyperglycemia failed to significantly alter the pH of intracerebral gliomas which were monitored for 90 min following administration of glucose. Tumor blood flow (TBF) was determined both pre- and post-glucose administration using deuterium NMR by monitoring the time course of D2O washout following intratumoral injection of saline D2O. Subcutaneous and intracerebral TBF were found to have an average change of -78.1% (range -47.4 to -93.3%, n = 5) and -21.1% (range +6.0 to -37.8%, n = 9), respectively. In addition, laser Doppler blood flow measurements of rat skin and subcutaneous glioma revealed a dramatic reduction in blood flow in both tissues following glucose administration. These results indicate that the effects of acute hyperglycemia are site dependent and that hyperglycemia alone is not beneficial for inducing intracellular acidosis in intracerebral tumors.

Early metabolic effects of hypotension on rat kidney

Saturation-transfer phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance (STNMR) has been applied to the rat kidney in vivo. The rate of renal metabolism determined by this method compares favorably with the renal oxygen consumption, assuming an ATP:oxygen ratio of 2. Hemorrhagic hypotension resulted in a 20% fall in renal blood flow and a significant fall in oxygen consumption. The rate of renal metabolism fell by 50%. This rate of ATP synthesis was below that required to maintain a normal [ATP], but renal [Pi] was not increased. When renal perfusion was reduced by 60%, intrarenal [Pi] rose. When [P1] was elevated, the method os STNMR no longer gave a reliable measure of the rate ATP synthesis, indicating that this new Pi pool was not in rapid chemical exchange with ATP. STNMR represents a useful noninvasive means of monitoring renal metabolic rate, with limitations due to insensitivity and the existence of multiple pools of intrarenal Pi.

Metabolic response of glioblastoma to adoptive immunotherapy: detection by phosphorus MR spectroscopy

In a patient with cerebral glioblastoma, metabolic disturbances were detected within the tumor and in the surrounding brain. Within the volume occupied by the tumor, phosphocreatine (PCr)/adenosine triphosphate was reduced and inorganic phosphate/PCr elevated, indicative of tissue necrosis. Loss of total 31P signal was consistent with reduced metabolite content within the area of tumor defined by CT and magnetic resonance (MR). These studies were accomplished with 31P MR spectroscopy at 2 T, using a volume head coil and the technique of two-dimensional phase-encoding to map regional metabolism across the entire cerebral cortex in voxels of 30 cm3. Using the same method, only minor variations in 31P metabolism were noted in six normal controls. Treatment with locally placed Interleukin-2 activated lymphocytes resulted in changes in both MR and 31P MR spectroscopy in the region of the tumor.

Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of hexose monophosphate shunt activity in cultured cells

A GC/MS method is described for monitoring the relative amount of glucose degraded to lactate via the hexose monophosphate shunt (HMPS) in neoplastic cells. C6 glioma cells were incubated in medium supplemented with [1-13 C]glucose and medium containing [1-13C]glucose with 0.001 mM phenazine methosulfate (PMS). The ratio of the [13C]lactate to [12C]lactate determined from the measurement of the m/z 219/220 and 117/118 ions of the trimethyl silyl derivative, was used to calculate HMPS activity. PMS increased HMPS activity in C6 glioma cells by 3.2 and 4.8 fold at 2 and 12 hours of incubation respectively. GC/MS results were compared with 1H NMR measurements of the [3-13C]lactate/[3-12C]lactate ratio. The GC/MS method was found to require less sample size and yielded better sensitivity than the NMR method.

Magnetic resonance imaging with adiabatic pulses using a single surface coil for RF transmission and signal detection

In order to overcome the problems that arise from nonuniform B1 fields, there has been interest in developing pulses that are insensitive to large variations in RF power. Pulses derived from adiabatic passage principles that can execute spin inversion, excitation, and 90 degrees and 180 degrees plane rotations in the presence of B1 inhomogeneities have recently been described. When driven with optimized modulation functions, these pulses can execute uniform excitation, refocusing, and slice-selective inversion over a 10-fold or greater variation in B1 magnitude. This insensitivity to B1 strength enables the execution of T1- and/or T2-weighted spin-echo imaging experiments using coils, such as the surface coil, with extremely inhomogeneous B1 profiles. We have successfully acquired images with these pulses at 200 MHz using a single surface coil as the transmitter and receiver. Images of the slice definition, the region over which the excitation and refocusing pulses operate with a surface coil, and brain images obtained with slice planes perpendicular to the plane of the surface coil are presented. Results demonstrate that these pulses can be transmitted with a surface coil to yield high-quality T1- and/or T2-weighted images without B1 artifacts.

31P NMR spectroscopy of the in vivo metabolism of an intracerebral glioma in the rat

The in vivo high-energy phosphorus metabolic profile and pH of an experimental intracerebral C6 glioma in rats was examined using surface coil 31P NMR spectroscopy. Initially, phosphorus-containing metabolites of the glioma were characterized by in vivo 31P surface coil spectroscopy of subcutaneously implanted tumors and by high-resolution NMR studies of perchloric acid (PCA) extracts of both freeze-clamped subcutaneous tumor tissue and cultured cells. These studies demonstrated that the C6 glioma has reduced levels of phosphocreatine (PCr) compared to the levels found in normal rat brain. Thus, reduced spectral PCr levels were useful as a metabolic indicator for monitoring the spatial selectivity of tumor metabolism distinct from that of adjacent normal brain tissue. To maximize 31P NMR signals from intracerebral tumors, tumor cells were stereotaxically placed superficially in the brain. Proton magnetic resonance imaging (1H MRI) was used to determine the size and location of the resultant brain tumors in order to preselect rats with large superficial tumors for spectroscopic study. 31P NMR spectra of the glioma tumors revealed a consistent reduction in the PCr/ATP ratio, an increase in the Pi/ATP ratio, and a slightly increased tissue pH. No correlation was found between levels of Pi/ATP and tumor pH in subcutaneous or intracerebral gliomas and the amount of necrosis as determined histologically. This study demonstrates that phosphorus metabolites of an experimental brain tumor in the rat can be monitored in vivo with minimal contributions from adjacent normal brain tissue metabolites using surface coil 31P NMR spectroscopy.

Dietary fat modulation of murine mammary tumor metabolism studied by in vivo 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The effect of dietary fat concentration and saturation on high energy phosphate metabolites and phospholipid turnover in transplanted line 168 murine mammary tumors was studied using surface coil 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Female BALB/c mice were fed one of five diets each containing at least the minimum of essential fatty acids (EFA). Four diets contained additional safflower or palm oil for a total fat concentration of 5 or 20% by weight. The growth rate of tumors from mice fed the high safflower oil diet was significantly greater than the growth rate of tumors for mice fed all other diets including the one which contained the minimal EFA. 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance-observable phosphate metabolite ratios. ATP/Pi, ATP/phosphomonoester (ATP/PME), and PME/Pi, and tumor pH of line 168 tumors decreased with increasing tumor volume, indicating a shift from active to inactive tumor metabolism. The rates of those decreases with progressive tumor growth differed significantly among tumors of mice fed the different diets. Decreases in ATP/Pi, ATP/PME, and pH were the most rapid in the tumors of mice fed the high safflower oil diet and significantly faster than tumors of mice fed the diet containing minimum EFA. In addition, the decrease in the PME/Pi ratio of tumors was significantly greater in mice fed the high fat (high palm oil and high safflower oil) diets than mice fed the diet containing the minimum of EFA. The rate of decline of ATP/Pi and ATP/PME with progressive tumor growth was directly correlated with levels of linoleic acid as well as total unsaturated fat. High levels of a polyunsaturated fat had a significant effect on mammary tumor metabolism particularly during early stages of tumor growth. Differences in high energy phosphate metabolite dynamics relative to dietary fat were present in tumors of equal volume. Thus, dietary fat influences on mammary tumorigenesis may be related to high energy phosphate metabolites.